


Favorite

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fíli Is a Sweetheart, Insecurity, Kili and Frenin are twins, M/M, Pining, Unrelated Fíli and Kíli
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 13:45:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5628733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kili loved his twin brother Frenin, so he should really be happier with him coming to visit.</p><p>But Frenin is always everyone's favorite. What if Fili decided he liked Kili's more successful and attractive brother more than Kili?!?</p><p>Not that Kili's crush on his roommate was anything but hopeless, of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Kili cringed as he read the text from Frenin.

_Coming to town this weekend, little bro!!!! Can I crash with you for a few days???_

He wanted to answer with an emphatic _no_ , but he knew that wouldn’t be fair.

And it wasn’t like he didn’t _want_ to see his brother. He loved his brother. They had a great relationship. Sure, they might not be like those twins in the movies or whatever with some kind of freaky telepathic connection, but they still loved each other. Hell, the fact that Frenin was asking to stay with him instead of staying at a fancy hotel that Kili _knew_ he could afford, was proof of that. It was just…

Frenin was always everyone’s favorite. And Kili could understand why.

Though they were identical down to the last freckle, Frenin was always the more confident of the two. He was smarter, funnier, more outgoing, more generous, more _everythin_ g _._ Kili didn’t even _blame_ anyone for liking him more.

Sure, at first, Kili had thought that it was just because his family saw Frenin less often. After all, Kili had stayed home for undergrad while Frenin had traveled all the way across the country to go to school in California. It made sense for his family to be more excited to see him than they were Kili. They saw Kili _all the time_.

But when Kili had moved off to go to grad school, they had _still_ been more excited to see Frenin.

But that wasn’t _Frenin’s_ fault.

Just like it wasn’t Frenin’s fault that all their friends from back home liked him more. Hell, it was actually because of Frenin that they were even Kili’s friends to begin with! They had been Frenin’s friends first, after all. Frenin had always just been nice enough to let his nerdy twin brother tag alone with him in high school.

Everyone who had ever met both Kili and Frenin had always liked Frenin more.

And that was totally fine. Kili had never begrudged his twin the attention. Even when he had brought his first college boyfriend home to meet his family, and Neil had taken a little too much of a shine to Frenin. It wasn’t like Frenin had done anything but be himself. Kili couldn’t fault him for that.

But it was different this time.

Still, he shot back a text telling Frenin that his couch was Frenin’s couch and sank back onto the couch with a sigh, frowning at the term papers piled high on his coffee table.

He decided they could wait and picked up his phone again.

“I hate grading exams,” Ori said in lieu of a greeting after a couple of rings. “Why can’t these kids write legibly? Are they that used to typing everything? This is why I give my dumber classes multiple choice tests.”

Kili snorted. “I don’t think you’re supposed to call the 100 level classes ‘dumber,’” he remarked. “But I’ll trade you your exams for my papers. I really should’ve just given my Western Civ class an exam.”

“But, Kili, how will they learn the wonders of history by just memorizing a bunch of facts?” his fellow professor teased him, throwing his own words back in his face.

He pulled a face that Ori couldn’t see. “Don’t be mean to me today. I just got some bad news,” he groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Ori asked in a concerned voice.

“My brother is staying with me this weekend.”

“You mean the asshole your ex-boyfriend tried to turn you into?” 

Kili rolled his eyes. “My brother wasn’t the asshole in that situation. Neil was.”

“I firmly believe that the whole situation could not have happened if your brother hadn’t pushed things in that direction,” Ori stated firmly. “If Neil thought you’d be better if you were more like Frenin, it’s because someone planted that idea in his head, and that someone was probably Frenin.”

“Stop being a psychologist for a few minutes, will you?” Kili said in exasperation. “Besides, you’ve never met either of them. And you don’t know how my family is. They gush over Frenin so much that it’s pretty obvious which twin is better. My three-year-old cousin, who won’t have anything to do with me, won’t let go of Frenin when he sees him. Pretty sure toddlers are good judges of character.”

“Toddlers judge character by who has the best candy,” Ori said dismissively. “And you don’t have to deal with the rest of your family this weekend,” he pointed out. “It’s just Frenin coming, right? So you won’t have to listen to any of their gushing over him!”

“I know, it’s just… it’s hard not to feel inferior next to Frenin, you know?” he admitted. “He’s this super successful lawyer with his super important job that takes him all over the damn world, and I’m just… me. You know, I even think he’s better looking than I am…”

“Kili, that’s ridiculous! First of all, you’re identical twins!”

“Yeah, but he works out a lot more than me,” Kili muttered, poking his slightly flabby tummy morosely.

“Second of all!” Ori bulldozed ahead. “You’re super successful with an important job too! You’re a tenure-track professor at a major university! One with a very highly lauded history department, I might add! Don’t let your brother make you feel bad about your choices!”

“He doesn’t!” Kili protested half-heartedly. “It’s just… Fili’s supposed to find out by the end of week if he got the open surgical position at the hospital or not. I was kinda hoping to celebrate with him this weekend…”

“And to convince him that even though he’s going to be a well-paid surgeon instead of a poor-as-dirt resident, that he should still stay your roommate, right?” his friend said in a knowing tone.

“He’s not moving out!” Kili insisted. “There has been absolutely no talk of that and I think he would have said something before now if he intended to…”

“True,” Ori conceded. “So is the problem that your brother is cutting in on your alone time with Fili or are you seriously worried that Fili is going to end up liking Frenin more?”

“You say it like it’s a ridiculous notion!” he cried. “It’s not! Neil liked Frenin more! Everyone likes Frenin more! When you meet him, _you’re_ going to like Frenin more!”

“I will not!” Ori declared incredulously. “You’re my best friend, Kili, and I’m not going to like your brother more than you! And _Fili_ is as much in love with you as you are with him! Why don’t you just ask him out?”

Kili rolled his eyes at the familiar argument. Ori had been telling Kili the same thing for nearly two years now. And every time Kili actually managed to work up the courage to maybe to tell Fili how he felt, something would come up that would make him second guess himself.

“I can’t risk telling him _now_ ,” he hissed. “He’s going to get a surgery position _somewhere_ and if I make things awkward here, it’d be way too easy for him to move out and never see me again!”

“Fili would never do that even if he _didn’t_ feel the same!” Ori argued. “He’s not that type of person, which you know because you know him better than _anyone_.”

That was true, Kili was willing to admit. Fili was far too warmhearted to just cut someone out of his life because things were a bit awkward between them. “Okay, you may have a point but—” A sudden rattle at the door made Kili cut himself off. “Gotta go. Enjoy grading exams!”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Kili smirked as his friend hung up, placing the phone down next to his own stack of grading just as the door to the apartment opened. He couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face at the sight of Fili, still wearing his green scrubs with his blond hair pulled up in a messy bun.

“I bought pizza!” Fili proclaimed, dropping down on the couch next to Kili. He pushed the stack of term papers to the side and placed the pizza box on the coffee table. “Got your favorite.”

“Hawaiian?” he asked, frowning as he flipped open the pizza box. “But you hate pineapple on your pizza!”

“Hate’s a strong word,” Fili quipped, standing up and heading towards the kitchen, coming back moments later with napkins and two beers. “Besides, I knew you’d be having a rough time with all your grading.”

Kili gave him a sideways look as he sat back down. “Are you trying to butter me up for something?” he asked, half afraid that this was Fili’s way of breaking it to him that he was moving out.

“Why do you always assume I want something when I do something nice for you?” Fili asked in bemusement, cracking open a beer before leaning back and throwing an arm around Kili. “Can’t I just do things for you because I want to see you smile?”

He couldn’t help but blush at that, leaning forward to grab a slice of pizza and letting his hair hide his flushed cheeks. He took a bite of pizza before quickly changing the subject. “Please tell me those aren’t the same scrubs you wore while cutting people open today.”

Fili chuckled. “I didn’t actually get to cut anyone open today,” he said, grabbing a slice of pizza of his own. “A few consultations and some paperwork. Nothing gross on the scrubs for once.”

Kili hummed before swallowing the pizza in his mouth. “So, uh, my brother is coming to town this weekend,” he told him hesitantly.“He asked if he could crash on our couch. I hope it was okay that I said yes without asking you.”

“Of course,” Fili replied with an easy smile. “This is your twin brother, right?”

“Yeah, identical twin,” he answered. “But we’re not that much alike to be honest.”

“Well, it’ll be interesting to meet him,” the blond said. “I really hope he comes prepared to tell all kinds of embarrassing stories about you from when you were kids.”

“Oh no,” Kili groaned, throwing his free arm over his eyes dramatically. “I’m going to have to kill one of you this weekend.”

Fili laughed. “I don’t think it’ll come to that. Now switch it over to Netflix. I still haven’t finished watching Orange is the New Black.”

Kili scowled at him but did as he asked.

And if he leaned into Fili a little more than a strictly platonic roommate should, well, they had thankfully long-abandoned such arbitrary rules.

#

He had pressed himself all week in order to have all his term papers graded before his brother got into town. When Friday finally rolled around and Frenin knocked on his door, all of his grades were submitted and his weekend was completely free.

“KILI!” Frenin cried jovially when he opened the door, nearly tackling him with a strong hug. “How’s my baby brother?”

Kili rolled his eyes. “You are five minutes older than me.”

“Which makes me older,” his brother quipped, striding into the apartment with a confident air that Kili had never been able to match. “Your roommate around?” he asked, dropping his bag next to the couch. 

“He’s at the hospital,” he replied.

“Oh, yeah, he’s like a surgeon or something, right?” Frenin said. “Why’s he bothering rooming with you? Shouldn’t he make enough money to live on his own?”

“He’s just finishing up his residency,” Kili explained with a shrug. “They don’t really pay residents all that much.”

“So why don’t _you_ live on your own?” he asked with a raised brow. “You make decent money. You could afford your own apartment.”

Kili didn’t want to admit that the thought of not being able to come home to Fili ripped his heart out. And he certainly didn’t want to admit that he hated the thought of living alone, not with how pathetic that sounded.

“I don’t mind sharing an apartment and saving more of my money,” he answered instead. “Besides, Fili is a pretty good roommate. We’ve got a good system in place.”

Frenin snorted. “Your roommate’s name is _Fili_? What the fuck kind of coincidence is that?”

“That’s actually how we met,” Kili said with a laugh. “We were both at Starbucks and they called out his name, but I thought they said mine, and we just got to talking.”

It had almost been like fate had wanted them to room together. Kili had been in town apartment hunting for his new job, and Fili’s roommate had just been offered a position in Texas. It was part of the reason Kili hadn’t asked Fili out after they had immediately clicked. It would have made living together way too awkward.

There part of the reason was because _he_ was way too awkward to ask someone as gorgeous as Fili out, but he liked to use the fact that they lived together as a good go-to excuse.

“Is he hot?” Frenin asked with overly lascivious smirk. 

Kili rolled his eyes again to cover up his unease at the question. “Why are you pretending that you haven’t stalked my Facebook page and don’t know exactly who Fili is and what he looks like?”

His brother laughed. How was it even possible that his _laugh_ was more attractive than Kili’s? Wasn’t it bad enough that his muscles were noticeably more defined that Kili’s and his clothes were more trendy and fashionable?

Kili berated himself mentally for his self-disparaging remarks. It wasn’t like he couldn’t work out more if he wanted more muscles. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t buy better clothes. And he definitely could cut his hair shorter and have the same attractive curls as his brother. Or shave daily and stop hiding the same defined jawline that Frenin had. Hell, he could even get contacts if he wanted.

So really, if he wanted to be as attractive as Frenin, he really could. But those things had never really been anything he cared about. And when he had cut his hair and tried to wear clothes like Frenin on Neil’s suggestion, he had just felt uncomfortable. And the contacts had aggravated the hell out of his eyes.

“It’s much more fun to pester you about things,” Frenin said in answer to his question. “And your roommate is hot, in case you haven't noticed. Does he bat for our team? Is he single? I couldn’t see his Facebook page.”

“He’s bi,” Kili replied shortly. “And yes, he’s single.”

“Good to know,” he said in satisfaction.

“Please don’t hit on my roommate,” Kili begged. “You’ll only make things more awkward for me when you leave.”

It was now Frenin’s turn to roll his eyes. “How would it make things more awkward for you if I hooked up with your hot roommate for the weekend?”

“Fili isn’t one for casual flings,” he told him, since he couldn’t really tell Frenin that he was head over heels in love with Fili. “There are plenty of people in the city for you to hook up with that _aren’t_ my roommate if you can’t keep it in your pants.”

“Spoilsport,” his brother shot back before giving him a wink. “Fine. I won’t hit on your hot roommate. But I’m not going to stop him if he hits on me.”

Kili really, _really_ hoped that Fili wouldn’t hit on Frenin. To tell the truth, he had never seen Fili hit on _anybody_ , thankfully. He really didn’t want his first time witnessing Fili flirting to be with his twin brother.

#

“I got the job!” Fili exclaimed when he burst into the apartment hours later, barely glancing at Frenin before beaming at Kili.

“Really?” he cried, jumping up in excitement. “That’s amazing!” 

Fili swept him up into a hug and spun him around joyously. Kili couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling up from inside him if he tried. The sound of his brother’s voice from behind him, though, sobered him quickly.

“Congratulations,” Frenin said smoothly, interrupting the roommates’ antics, sliding up next to them.

Kili held his breath as Fili released him and got his first real look at his brother.

“Thank you,” he said, glancing between the two of them. “It’s amazing how different the two of you look.”

Kili’s heart sank at the words. He really didn’t need the confirmation that he was so inferior to his brother. Especially not from Fili’s mouth.

“Yeah, well, good thing,” he quipped, trying to hide how devastated he was. “Who’d want to look exactly like someone so ugly?”

“Please,” Frenin shot back dismissively. “You wish you looked this good.”

“Anyway, we should celebrate!” Kili exclaimed before Fili could agree with Frenin. 

“That is a great idea!” his brother agreed immediately. “Let’s go out! What’s the best bar in town?”

“I’m not really a huge fan of bars,” Fili told him sheepishly. “Actually, Legolas and Tauriel are having people over to celebrate a little later. Legolas got the position he was after in ICU. They told me to invite the both of you.”

Great, Kili thought. After living together for a little over three years, Fili and Kili’s friend groups had sort of merged together after a while. Which meant it was likely that _all_ of Kili’s friends were going to be at Legolas and Tauriel’s place. And _all_ of them would meet Frenin.

But it was either take his brother there or not celebrate Fili’s new position with him. And that was hardly a choice at all.

“Sounds like fun!” he said cheerfully before nudging his brother with his elbow. “You up for it?”

“Well, it’s not quite the wild night I had envisioned, but I’m sure it’ll be fun,” Frenin answered with a shrug.

#

Kili was not sulking.

He had no reason to sulk. After all, if Fili and Frenin were sitting a little too close, it was only because there were five people smooshed together on a couch made for three. And the only reason Kili wasn’t sitting with either of them was because they were on different teams.

So, no, he was not sulking.

However, no one could really blame him if his head really wasn’t in the whole Pictionary thing.

Which was why it was so hurtful that he _was_ getting blamed for it.

“Would you stop mooning over Fili and participate in the game?” Tauriel hissed at him. “We’re _losing_.”

“I’m not _mooning_ over Fili,” he shot back in a low tone. 

Ori snorted at him from his other side and leaned over to whisper conspiratorially to Tauriel, “He’s afraid Frenin is going to steal Fili from him.”

He glared at the diminutive redhead. Traitor.

Tauriel’s burst of laughter really wasn’t warranted either.

He ignored them both in favor of watching Fili draw what was obviously _George of the Jungle_. He rolled his eyes as Legolas guessed _Tarzan_. Tarzan didn’t where a leopard print loincloth.

“George of the Jungle!” Frenin cried just before their time ran out.

“YES!” Fili crowed in triumph.

Kili glowered as Fili sat back down next to Frenin, throwing an arm around his shoulders and clapping him merrily on the opposite shoulder.

_And he just LEFT_ _it there!_

“Your brother is pretty great!” Legolas told him after the game was finished while Kili was helping him with drinks in the kitchen. “And his hair is fantastic! Does yours curl like that?”

Kili resisted the urge to scowl and plastered a smile on his face instead. “Yeah, but I keep it long because the curls get on my nerves.”

“Shame,” the blond said with a shrug.

Was it a shame? He thought his hair looked okay, but maybe he should cut it again? He’d probably get used to the odd bounciness of curls eventually. Just because he had never had before didn’t mean he couldn’t.

He fingered the ends of his hair self-consciously. It still had a _slight_ curl to it. It didn’t have the gravity-defying _bounciness_ of Frenin’s curls, but Kili generally thought it looked alright.

Generally, though, no one had a better version of himself to compare him to.

“There you are!” Fili cried, as he strode into the kitchen and grabbed another beer. He smirked at Kili as he popped the top off and leaned against the counter. “Why are you hiding in here?”

Kili started, not having realized he had stood there frozen after Legolas’s comment. He shook his head apologetically. “Sorry, it’s been a tiring week,” he said, not exactly _lying_. “Just kinda spaced out for a moment.”

Fili’s brow furrowed in concern. “If you’re tired, we can go…”

“No!” he protested immediately, guilt flashing through him. “We’re celebrating you and Legolas getting your jobs! And I definitely want to be celebrating you getting a job that’s not gonna make you move away!”

His roommate rolled his eyes fondly at that. “The only other positions I applied for were at other hospitals in the city. I was never going to move away.”

Yeah, Kili thought, but the university hospital, the one where Fili worked, was super close to their apartment. If he had gotten a job at a hospital on the other side of the city, it wouldn’t make much sense for him to still live with Kili. He didn’t say that though.

“Come on,” Fili told him, throwing an arm around Kili and steering him towards the living room. “We’re about to play Taboo.”

“And you and Kili are _still_ not allowed to be on the same team!” Gimli stated with a narrow-eyed look. “And neither are Kili and Frenin! Twin telepathy is cheating!”

Kili pouted as he flopped back onto the loveseat between Tauriel and Bofur.

Frenin didn’t have to smirk at him like that from where he was squeezed tightly between Gimli and Fili. And it wasn’t Kili’s imagination that made him think his twin was pressing closer to Fili than he was to Gimli.

Needless to say, Kili didn’t really have much fun that night.

Tbc...


	2. Chapter Two

Despite the poor sleep he got, Kili still felt obliged to get up early the next morning to make breakfast for Frenin. 

However, because he wanted to make it a celebratory treat for Fili, too, he decided on french toast and bacon, Fili’s favorite. Frenin, he knew, liked both just as well as he’d like anything else Kili would make, so he didn’t feel so bad about not making his brother his favored waffles.

He assumed that Frenin would wake up first, what with him sleeping on the couch and all, but Fili was actually the first to stumble blurrily into the kitchen, heading straight for the pot of coffee Kili had made.

“Morning,” he mumbled to Kili as he poured himself a cup.

“Good morning,” he replied cheerfully, shaking his head in amazement as Fili took one sip of his coffee and immediately perked up.

“French toast! My favorite! You are amazing!”

Kili flushed at the praise. “Figured you deserved it after getting the job yesterday.”

“Speaking of yesterday,” Fili said with a frown. “You were awfully quiet. You didn’t taunt me not once during Pictionary or Taboo. Something wrong?”

Since he couldn’t tell Fili the truth, he just shrugged and used his tired excuse again. “You enjoyed yourself, though, right?” he asked, not really wanting to ask outright what Fili thought of Frenin but also very much wanting to _know_.

“Would’ve been more fun if you were on my team and we had wiped the floor with everyone at game night,” Fili said with a smirk. “But your brother was almost as good so at least we still won.”

Kili bit the inside of his lip at that and fought to keep his face from betraying his dismay. Surely if Fili and Frenin had connected as much to be “almost as good” of teammates as Fili and Kili, that meant _something_ , right?

Thankfully before he could say something stupid and sound completely pathetic, Frenin chose that moment to join them. He plopped down dramatically in a barstool on the other side of the kitchen counter and propped his head up drowsily on one hand.

How was it fair that Frenin’s hair looked _that_ good after having just woken up?

For the second time in twenty four hours, Kili felt the urge to run his fingers through his hair in shame. He barely managed to resist the urge, not wanting to give his feelings away. Maybe he could use a bit of a cut. It _had_ gotten a little long.

“Coffee?” Frenin said, giving Kili a pleading look.

He snorted but got a mug out of the cabinet and poured Frenin some coffee anyway. He slid the mug to him without putting any milk or sugar in it. His twin had always taken it black. It was something Kili could never forget. Not when every time they were both home their father made a comment about how real men took their coffee black.

He purposefully didn’t look at his own cup of coffee, full of milk, sugar, and cinnamon.

He finished cooking and piled three plates with french toast and bacon. Fili shot him a grin as Kili slid one in front of Frenin.

“No, thanks, little bro,” he said with a rueful grin, pushing the plate away. “Gotta watch the calories. You don’t keep these washboard abs by eating such a heavy breakfast,” he quipped, pulling up his shirt and showing off his six-pack with a wink.

Kili looked down at his own plate, not feeling hungry anymore for some reason.

“Well, I’m pulling a twelve-hour shift today and the cafeteria food always sucks on Saturdays, so I’ll take as much heavy breakfast as I can get,” Fili commented, grabbing Frenin’s plate and settling down at the kitchen table with two plates.

Kili smiled a bit at that, setting down across from Fili at the table and nibbling at his own food. “So do you have any plans today, Frenin?”

His twin made a face. “I’ve got to get going soon. I’ve got a panel starting at nine. I hate going to conferences like this. They’re boring and such a waste of time.”

“Then why do you go?” he asked curiously. When _he_ went on conferences, he loved listening to his colleagues presentations and discussions. Maybe lawyer conferences were more boring than historian conferences.

“Networking,” Frenin answered. “Always good to get to know all the players in your field. Anyway,” he said, finishing off his coffee and standing up, “I need to get dressed and get going.”

It sounded terrible, but Kili was glad he wouldn’t have to entertain his brother for the day. He was a little less thrilled, though, that Fili had to leave a few minutes later.

It wasn’t until he was cleaning up that he realized that Fili had _actually_ ate both his and Frenin’s servings of french toast and bacon.

His heart felt a little lighter after that.

#

“So your brother is adorable,” Tauriel told Kili at lunch. “If I weren’t engaged to Legolas, I might have to go after that.”

Kili groaned as Gimli laughed. “You realize he’s Kili’s twin, right?” Gimli pointed out. “You’re basically saying you’d go after Kili if you weren’t taken.”

She rolled her eyes. “Kili and his brother are nothing alike. Frenin is a gorgeous lawyer with tousled hair and muscles the size of my head. Kili is a scruffy, long-haired nerd in glasses,” she shot back before giving Kili a wink. “Not that we don’t all love him, of course.”

She didn’t know how her words hurt him. She _couldn’t_ know. Kili had never really told anyone except Ori how inferior he felt next to his twin, and he had only told him because he had gotten a little too drunk one night when he was feeling particularly depressed about being in love his room and Ori was despondent over his hopeless crush on this professor in the mechanical engineering department.

Tauriel was just teasing him. He knew that.

But knowing that didn’t stop the words from hitting his recently dredged-up insecurities dead-on.

“Sorry I’m late!” Ori cried as he threw himself into the booth next to Gimli and across from Kili. “I, um, kinda ran into someone and got caught up. What are we talking about?”

“Apparently about how Tauriel is going to leave Legolas for Kili’s hotter brother,” Gimli informed him good-naturedly.

Ori shot him a concerned look and he shook his head almost imperceptibly. He could handle Tauriel and Gimli’s ribbing. He didn’t need Ori to go into mama-bear mode and tell them off. Not when it would just make him look even more pathetic next to his suave and cool twin brother who would never need someone to fight his battles for him.

“Who did you run in to?” Kili asked, changing the subject.

Ori smiled in an embarrassedly pleased way. “Dwalin.”

Kili grinned at him. Maybe his crush was not so hopeless after all.

That effectively steered all conversation away from Kili’s twin brother.

#

“So it’s too bad I don’t visit as much,” Frenin said later that night over Chinese food. “I would _definitely_ go after Fili if I were around. How the hell is that gorgeous man still single?”

“His residency kept him super busy,” Kili replied with a shrug, popping the recliner’s footrest up and propping his feet up.

“Well now that he’s not an overworked, underpaid resident, I’m sure he’ll have more time. Better get used to Fili having more bed partners coming in and out of the apartment,” his twin warned him with a smirk.

It wasn’t something that Kili hadn’t thought about before, but that didn’t mean he wanted to hear it thrown out like it was foregone conclusion.

Thankfully, Fili came home before they could delve too much deeper into that line of conversation.

“I am beat,” the blond declared, slouching down onto the couch next to Frenin and resting his head back on the cushions with his eyes closed. 

“Will your schedule get less crazy now that you’re gonna be a full-on surgeon instead of a resident?” Frenin asked, laying a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Kili tried very hard not to focus on that hand.

Fili snorted as he opened his eyes. “Yeah, no more sixteen hour days. Surgeons are usually scheduled for eight to twelve hours shifts, depending on the patients and surgeries they’re assigned. I’ll have to do a lot of on-call hours though and a couple of nightshifts in the ER every month.”

“So still a lot of hours. I know all about that,” Frenin commiserated. “Though thankfully no one is ever bleeding out on me.”

Fili chuckled, the sound like a dagger to Kili’s heart. “I can handle the blood.”

“I’m sure you can handle a lot of things,” Kili’s twin said flirtatiously.

“I’m getting a beer,” Kili told them before Fili could reply to that. He got to his feet and sent them both a fake smile. “Anyone want one?”

Fili shook his head. “No thanks. I’m gonna head to bed. Goodnight, Kili, Frenin.”

“I’m gonna pass too, little bro,” Frenin said after Fili had disappeared into his room. “The conference starts up early tomorrow morning with breakfast and I need some sleep. I’ll actually probably be gone before you wake up, and then my flight leaves around one so…”

“Oh,” Kili said in realization. “So I guess I’ll tell you goodbye now and let you get some sleep.”

It was a little strange to Kili that his brother’s visit was coming to such an abrupt end. He felt like he barely got to spend any time with him. That certainly hadn’t stopped Frenin from spending time with Fili and all of Kili’s other friends though. Still, he knew that Frenin’s main purpose in coming here was the conference, not to just hang out with his dorky twin brother.

“I’ve missed you, Kili,” Frenin said sadly, standing up and wrapping him in a hug. “Sorry I can’t stay longer,” he added as he pulled away. “But hey, at least now I can tell Mom that you’re doing fine here and that she shouldn’t worry so much.”

Kili smiled softly and shook his head. “She shouldn’t worry about me.”

“She didn’t used to when you came home for every holiday,” his brother told him reprovingly. “Now you barely make it back for Christmas.”

He winced at that. “I just get… busy…”

Besides, as a resident, Fili rarely got time off for holidays so could never travel to see his family. Faced with the choice of spending Fili’s little free time with him and going home to see his family gush over Frenin, he’d choose staying here with Fili.

“Yeah, well, _try_ this Thanksgiving, okay?” Frenin pleaded. “It’s not the same without you.”

He gave a wan smile. “I’ll try. Now goodnight, and travel safely, okay?”

“Always,” he replied, sending Kili to bed with one more hug. “Love you, little bro.”

“Love you too.”

Kili went to bed with a fond smile. He really couldn’t blame anyone for liking Frenin more than him. His brother was pretty great.

# 

“What are you doing?” Fili asked the next day, poking his head into Kili’s room and catching him staring at his reflection in his mirror. The blond gave him an amused look as he leant against the doorframe. “Admiring your reflection?”

Kili shot him an unimpressed look before shaking his head and glancing back at the mirror. “Just thinking about cutting my hair—”

“Don’t you dare!” Fili cut him off sharply to Kili’s surprise. Fili looked a bit surprise with his vehemence as well before he cleared his throat. “I like your hair the way it is.”

Warmth spread through Kili at the words, but he still shrugged and said, “It doesn’t look as nice as Frenin’s.”

“I think it looks better,” the blond argued, taking three steps to stand right in front of Kili and reaching up to touch his hair. He smiled before stepping back out of Kili’s personal space. “Don’t change it, okay? And come eat breakfast. I made waffles.”

“Do you really think my hair looks alright?” Kili asked as he trailed after Fili, somewhat dazed that anyone would say _anything_ about him was better than Frenin.

“Kili, you know you’re gorgeous, do you really want me to spell it out for you?” the surgeon asked in fond exasperation as he set a waffle down on the table for Kili, loaded with strawberries and whipped cream.

He just stood there and looked at Fili in a stupor before slowly shaking his head. “No, I’m not. _Frenin_ is the gorgeous one. With his bouncy hair and contacts and nice clothes. That’s why he’s always everyone’s favorite. I’m just… me.”

“Kili…” Fili murmured, stepping close and putting his hands on Kili’s shoulders. “You don’t honestly believe that you’re _just_ anything, do you? Because you’re amazing. And Frenin is not _everyone’s_ favorite. Because _you_ have and always be my favorite. And not just my favorite twin or my favorite Durin or my favorite professor, but my favorite _person._ Ever. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Kili sniffed before lurching forward and burying his face in Fili’s neck and wrapping his arms tightly around his roommate’s waist. Fili might not love him like he loved Fili, but it was enough that he was the blond’s favorite.

He had never been anyone’s favorite before.

Fili was kind enough not to dwell on the few tears that leaked out of Kili’s eyes, instead leading him to the table for breakfast. After they ate, they spent the rest of the day curled together on the couch watching the rest Orange is the New Black, ordering pizza when they got hungry again.

After spending the rest of the weekend feeling inferior to his brother, it was nice to just bask in Fili’s attention.

#

“Tell him,” Ori said insistently at lunch the next day.

“I can’t tell him,” Kili replied morosely, poking at his chicken pot pie with his fork.

“You can’t _not_ tell him!” his friend cried in exasperation. “You love him! He loves you! You should live happily ever after together!”

“He’s not _in_ love with me, though,” he said sadly.

“You don’t _know_ that!” Ori argued.

He sighed. “I don’t know that he _is_ either,” he pointed out. “I can’t risk it. I can’t lose him, Ori. I _can’t_. If this is all we ever are, I’ll be happy as long as we’re _something_. If I were to drive him away and never see him again…”

“Fili would never just abandon you,” Ori told him gently. “Even if he didn’t feel the same way.”

Kili knew that was true, but he still couldn’t do it. “It’d make things awkward for him,” he said. “Why would he want to stay in an apartment full of awkwardness when he doesn’t have to?”

Ori deflated in defeat. “I still think you should tell him, but if you can be happy with things the way they are, I won’t push.”

#

Kili froze as he entered the apartment, taking in the candles and the roses and the wonderful smell wafting from the kitchen. Fili walked into the living room from the kitchen with a sheepish smile, dressed in dark-washed jeans, a light blue button-down, and a dark blazer.

What was going on?

“I know this is all horribly cliche,” Fili said, without telling Kili exactly what _this_ was. Because it looked an awful lot like something that Kili really couldn’t dare hope for. “And probably a little cheesy. But I think you deserve cliche and cheesy.”

“I do?” he asked in a daze, stepping in fully and closing the door behind him.

Fili nodded, smile still in place but Kili could see the nervous tenseness of his shoulders. “You do. You deserve someone to put on a ridiculous display to show you just how ridiculously in love with you he is.”

Kili’s heart jumped into his throat at the words and his eyes stung a bit with his welling emotions. “You…?” 

He wasn’t able to get out the rest of what he wanted to ask, but Fili seemed to understand it nevertheless.

“I can understand if you don’t feel the same,” the blond stated earnestly, crossing the room smoothly and grasping both of Kili’s hands in his own. “But you seemed so surprised yesterday that I thought you were better than your brother that I had to let you know. I had to tell you just _how much_ you are loved.”

“Of _course_ I feel the same!” Kili said in a rush, finally able to get his words out despite how choked up he felt. “Fili, I love you so much I just never thought that you could feel the same and I didn’t want to ruin thing between us and—”

He was cut off when a pair of warm lips pressed against his own, not that Kili minded. He melted into the kiss, all but falling into Fili’s arms and moaning as the blond snuck his tongue out and deepened the kiss.

“If it takes the rest of my life, I will show you how much more you are than what you believe yourself to be,” Fili vowed, breaking the kiss but mouth still close enough so that his breath brushed against Kili’s lips.

He shivered. “The rest of your life?” he asked hopefully.

Fili grinned. “You better believe I’m never letting you go, Kili Durin. I love you, now and forever.”

Kili really could believe how lucky he was, but he wasn’t going to question it. “I love you too.”

#

“KILI!” numerous voices called out joyfully as he walked into his mother’s house with Fili in tow.

His parents were the first ones to pull him into a hug, but it was soon followed by Frenin and his uncles and aunts and all the cousins he hadn’t seen in _forever_.

Thanksgiving was the one holiday where all his family got together. And he had kinda missed the last four…

“Oh my gosh, _Kili_ , it’s so good to see you!”

“Kili, my boy, you’re looking well!”

“Kili, come here and talk to me!”

“Kili, introduce your young man to us! Don’t just stand there gawking!”

“Alright, everyone!” his mother cried, shooing the family back and looping an arm around Kili’s. “My son is finally home for Thanksgiving, and I’ll not have you all crowding him and driving him away. Give him some air and let him and Fili get settled before pouncing on them!” She turned and smiled happily at Kili. “I’ve made up your old room for you and Fili. Why don’t you show Fili where that is?”

He grinned at her before grabbing his bags and leading Fili up the stairs.

“What?” he asked, as he caught Fili staring at him with a satisfied smirk when they got to their room.

“It seemed like they all felt your absence pretty keenly to me,” the blond quipped, wrapping his arms around Kili’s waist. “Not really the greeting you’d expect for someone unimportant.”

Kili flushed and smiled shyly. “They seemed happy to see me.”

“They love you,” Fili said with a certainty that brooked no argument. “And I may not know them very well, but I really don’t think they seem like the type of people to play favorites.”

He shrugged and threw his arms around Fili’s neck with a grin. “Doesn’t matter if they do. I’m _your_ favorite, right?”

“Always,” he promised before leaning in and capturing Kili’s lips in a tender kiss.

Fin.


End file.
